Respiration Chapter Overview

Respiration

• External Respiration: Uptake of oxygen (O2) and excretion of carbon dioxide (CO2). O2 diffuses from air into lungs, and passes through blood. O2 diffuses from blood into alveoli for exhalation.
• Internal Respiration: O2 diffuses from blood to cells. CO2 diffuses from cells through peripheral capillaries to the blood for exhalation.
• Breathing: Involuntary process controlled by the brain stem. Involves inhalation (air entering lungs) and exhalation (air leaving lungs).
• Types of Breathing: Thoracic breathing (common in females), and diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing (common in males).
• Factors Affecting Breathing: Age (decreases respiration rate), exercise (increases respiration rate and depth), acute pain (alters rate and rhythm), stress (increases rate), environment (e.g., high altitude increases rate), lifestyle (e.g., smoking, sedentary lifestyle increase rate).
• Respiration Assessment:
  • Respiratory Rate/Frequency: Number of breaths per minute.
    • Eupnea (normal): 12-20 breaths/minute at rest.
    • Bradypnea: <12 breaths/minute.
    • Tachypnea: > 20 breaths/minute.
    • Apnea: Absence of breathing (temporary or prolonged)
  • Respiratory Rate by age group:
    • Infants: 35-40 breaths/minute
    • Toddlers: 30-35 breaths/minute
    • Preschool: 20-25 breaths/minute
    • School-aged: 15-20 breaths/minute
    • Adults: 12-20 breaths/minute
  • Respiratory Depth: Measured by chest/abdominal movement. Normal, deep (hyperventilation), or shallow (hypoventilation).
    • Normal depth: tidal volume of 500mL air.
    • Deep or Hyperventilation: full lung expansion during inhalation and exhalation with larger tidal volume.
    • Shallow or Hypoventilation: small quantity of air passing through lungs.
    • Rapid breathing can be shallow and lead to hypoventilation.
• Abnormal Respiration Patterns:
  • Cheyne-Stokes Respiration: Tidal volume starts shallow, becomes deeper, then shallow again, sometimes with periods of apnea (absence of breathing). Can indicate severe heart failure.
  • Biot's Respiration: Irregular breathing with varying tidal volume and random periods of apnea. Can indicate central nervous system disorders.
  • Kussmaul Respiration: Abnormally deep, rapid, and labored breathing. Signifies metabolic disorders or diabetic coma.

• Dyspnea

• Sensation of shortness of breath; using neck muscles to assist breathing. Indicates heart/lung diseases, spasmodic dyspnea (asthma). Shortness of breath.
• Shallow: Reduced chest movement; can indicate pain, lung inflammation, drug overdose, or anesthesia.
• Atypical: Body's attempt to recover or gasp when, e.g., a patient is dying.
• Respiration Measurement: Observing chest/abdominal movement, palpating chest, listening to breath sounds, and electronic monitoring of respiration.

Body Temperature

• Body Temperature: Result of heat produced and lost from the body. Maintained through thermoregulation mechanisms (nervous and endocrine systems), primarily through the hypothalamus.
• Factors Affecting Body Temperature:
  • Age: Infants and children have immature thermoregulation, while the elderly have decreased systems, increasing risk of hypothermia.
  • Daytime: Low body temperature in morning (4-6 AM), increasing to highest during the evening (4-6 PM) but fluctuating up to 2°C through the day.
  • Physical Activity: Increases heat production, influencing body temp.
  • Hormones: Progesterone slightly raises body temperature during ovulation, while thyroid and adrenal hormones increase metabolic rate and temperature.
  • Environment: Exposure to heat/cold directly affects temperature.
  • Pathology: Inflammation, and tumors increase temperature; major blood loss decreases temperature.
• Body Temperature Assessment:
  • Normal: 36°C - 36.9°C (afebrile)
  • Hypothermia: < 36°C
  • Subnormal: 37°C - 37.9°C
  • Mild Fever (pyrexia): 38°C - 38.8°C
  • Increased Fever (central fever): 38.9°C - 39.9°C
  • High Fever (hyperpyrexia): > 40°C
• Phases of Body Temperature: Fever (rapid-onset, high, then gradual decrease) ; Duration (temp remains elevated) ; Resolution (rapid/gradual decrease).

Types of Thermometers

• Digital Electronic Thermometers: Most common today, accurate, display temperature on an LED screen, and have batteries.
• Digital Tympanic Thermometers: Digital, contact/non-contact forehead thermometers.
• Digital Temporal Artery Thermometers: Digital temperature-measuring device.
• Chemical/Forehead Thermometers: Forehead thermometers.
• Glass/Mercury Thermometers: No longer used due to mercury's environmental hazards.

This quiz covers the fundamentals of respiration, including external and internal respiration processes, and the control mechanisms of breathing. It also highlights the different types of breathing and various factors that can affect respiratory rates. Test your knowledge on how these concepts interrelate within the human body.